ITINERARY 3 • ART NOUVEAU ALBERGO TERMINUS ART NOUVEAU

A fine example of Art Nouveau style, the Hotel Terminus was built in the first decade of the 20th century on the Lungo Lario di Levante (renamed Lungo Lario Trieste during World War I) by the architect Italo Zanolini. The name Terminus, preserves the memory of its original function as the “thermal spa” of the nearby Grand Hotel Plinius, built in 1900 for the the celebration of the

ITINERARY 3 ITINERARY centenary of Alessandro Volta’s invention of the first electric battery. The site had previously been occupied by a group of buildings known as “Barsega,” which included a dye works that supported Como’s textile tradition. Upon the conclusion of the 1927 bicentenary of Volta’s birth, the Plinius closed down for a long period due to unsustainable costs, and in 1928, Terminus was born as the Hotel Meublé Terme. During the Nazi-Fascist occupation of Northern Italy (1943-45), the hotels on the lakefront were requisitioned by the Germans. Terminus was used to house high-ranking officers, their interpreters and secretaries until April 28, 1945, when the Allies were welcomed in Piazza Cavour by throngs of Italians. In recent times, the hotel has been renovated, maintaining the original style and details, such as the exterior railings, cast iron lamps, stained glass windows, stuccoes, and, in the ground floor lobby and hallways, the wall and ceiling decorations. Common to many Art Nouveau buildings is the turret, which houses a two-story suite with a vaulted ceiling and 360-degree view that spans from the Duomo to the lake. COMO-BRUNATE CAMPARI FUNICULAR FOUNTAIN

COMO-BRUNATE THE ART NOUVEAU FUNICULAR ROAD OF BRUNATE

Starting from Hotel Terminus, you can take a stroll The village of Brunate, known as the “Balcony of

ART NOUVEAU back in time through the Belle Époque and the Art the Alps,” is an open-air Art Nouveau museum: 62 Nouveau style neighborhood. Walking east, you villas were built there between 1890 and 1915. At 50 first encounter the Como Lago train station, whose meters from the lower exit of the funicular, you will original canopy remains intact, and then the funicular find Villa Giuliani the only one open to the public – station, reminiscent of a mountain chalet. From here, characterized by balconies and floral decorations elegant carriages of Liberty design are pulled by a that create a wonderful dialogue with the surrounding steel cable for a seven minute ascent of 700 meters nature. Next to it is the Campari Fountain, another to the village of Brunate, a prestigious holiday precious legacy of the Belle Époque. Starting from destination of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. the church of Brunate is the Via del Liberty, or “Art The funicular was built in 1894, and since 1912 a Nouveau Road,” lined on both sides by spectacular cannon is fired every day at noon. villas, leading up to a scenic overlook that offers a an unforgettable view of the lake. ITINERARY 3 ITINERARY CONCORDIA STEAMER BERNASCONI MANSION CONCORDIA BERNASCONI MANSION STEAMER IN CERNOBBIO

Would you like to experience the thrill of a cruise Completed in 1906 as the home of the textile during the the Belle Époque period? Take a ride on magnate Davide Bernasconi and his family, since the steamer Concordia, the oldest such vessel still 2017 Villa Bernasconi has hosted the first “talking active on Lake Como. Baptized in 1926, it is powered museum,” dedicated to Art Nouveau, silk and the by a steam engine that drives a series of paddle villa’s original owners. The exteriors are rich in wheels. At the stern are two cabins in perfect Art decorative elements designed by the architect Nouveau style. The same style characterizes some Alfredo Campanini: among the floral motifs are the of the village piers on the lake, the most famous of butterflies of silkworms, which refer to the activity which is at Cernobbio, with an elegant circa 1906 of the munificent patron. The interiors are no less iron and glass canopy. It isn’t difficult to understand detailed, from the staircase to the stain glass why the Concordia is often used as a movie set and windows with metal bindings. A turret soars above for celebrity weddings like that of Emily Blunt and the main structure of the villa. John Kasinski.

ITINERARY 3 - ART NOUVEAU